Behind The Facades
by Stanislav Simza
Summary: Never did Katara think that her life was build on lies, but the arrival of a new family in her town reveals that nothing is as it seems. As she tries to lift the biggest secret known to man, she might discover far more than she sought. Katara/Zuko
1. Prologue

___Disclaimer: I don´t own Avatar: The last Airbender or the characters, only the story-line..._

Prologue

In all the fairytales I´ve read as a child the princesses were always beautiful and graceful, but unable to save themselves. They were always waiting for the prince to come and save them from the evil dragon and sweep them off of their feet. When I was little I´ve never wanted to become like them, I wanted to fight my own battles, be my own dragonslayer.

But that was before I realized how harsh society can be to them who are not as rich as the rest. We weren´t really poor, but we were by no means as well off as most of the town we lived in. I didn´t care about the money, but children can be mean and uncaring when the repeat what their parents gossip behind closed doors. I´ve learned to become quiet and remain hidden, not daring to tell anyone of my dreams and hopes that they just would´ve laughed at anyway.

I´ve never been different, never been special. And now I became the girl that no one noticed standing in the corner, I became the one that stayed silent. It may have not been the best way to spent the days, but it was easy. People eventually forget about me, not finding me important enough anymore to talk about. I was just normal, well maybe a little invisible from time to time, but still normal, plain and simple. And I´ve always thought my family was the same, just as normal as I. My mother passed away when I was six, but I hardly even remember her. If I really concentrate I see a smiling face behind my closed eyes, but this image is blurred and vague, nothing specific that I could hold onto. My dad hardly ever speaks of her, only told me once that she has been in a heavy car accident and died in surgery afterwards.

If I mention her name in front of my older brother though, he always gets this withdrawn expression in his eyes and won´t talk for the rest of the day. I´ve always thought that was because he remembered our mum, since he has known her for a year longer than me, and was hurting since the memories were plaguing him.

So I stopped saying her name, stopped saying that I´ve ever had a mum, for my dad and my brother´s sake. Never did I even think that everything I´ve ever believed in could be a lie. Never did I doubt my family´s words. And never did I guess that I wasn´t really normal. But life can change from one moment to the other and sometimes you have to find out the hard way. Change doesn´t have to be bad, it can give you a new chance, can give you a new perspective on life. And my life did change in aspects I would´ve never believed to change, while some stayed the same as they always have been. For the world isn´t as you would guess. There is so much more to it, nothing can be divided into black and white.

My name is Katara Waters and this is my story. I´m going to tell you this slightly different tale, if you´re willing to listen. I will tell you the secret of my mother´s death and the lie that has been my life. I will tell you of betrayal and hate, but most importantly I will tell you of love and true friendship, of bonds that are stronger than death.

But every story needs a beginning and mine starts on the first day of my senior year. I had prepared myself to face another year of just remaining in the shadows, but the arrival of an unusual family brought forgotten secrets to light. I had to realize that people I´ve known for all my life weren´t what they made us believe. Who would have guessed that I found the truth in the most unlikely place possible, but I guess life is never predictable. Enough of my rambling though. I´m here to tell you about my slightly abnormal life and not to ponder over our existence in life. Let´s go on with our story, shall we?

It all began on a summer´s day, a Wednesday to be precise...

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**A/N: **

**I´m back. Kinda. I don´t even know what happened to ´The Path Of The White Lotus´ but I´m still trying. This story has been in my head for quite a while and I hope that I finally start to write again. I hope you like it, I know the chapter is short, but it´s only the prologue. ;)  
Tell me what you think of it. :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don´t own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any characters. I´m merely a fan.**

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Chapter 1

The sun was rising, but the city didn´t notice. It was still very much asleep. Well, not exactly the whole city. One lonely boy was sitting on the roof of a house, watching as the sun climbed higher and higher up the sky. He raised his head so its warm rays could meet his face and the corners of his mouth rose a tiny bit.

No matter what happened the sun would always give him the strength he needed. As time passed by the city was slowly waking up. The boy sighed. He was scared, though he would never admit that. Today would be the start of his new life, the day where he would hopefully leave his old one behind.

However, he knew that his past would catch up with him sooner or later. His father would never let him forget, not after what had been said and done. The boy didn´t regret it, though, he never would.  
He got up from his seat on the roof and made his way back to the window that led back inside. His life would never be the same and he had to accept that, as hard as it turned out to be.

"Nephew! There you are, I was looking everywhere for you. Do you want some of this delicious tea? I can´t believe I´ve never tasted it before." An old man was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, holding a steaming cup of tea in his hands. However, the heat didn´t seem to affect im at all.

His nephew had to laugh, something he hadn´t done in while, but it was soothing to see that his uncle would never change. The old man smiled. He was worried about his nephew, the last weeks had been hard on both of them and to see the young boy finally laughing again warmed his heart. The boy had stopped laughing and shook his head in reply tho his uncle´s question. "No, Uncle. You know I don´t like tea. It´s nothing more than hot leaf juice." The man grasped his heart and pretended to choke.

"How could a member of my own family say something so horrible?" The boy looked down and touched the left side of his face that was scarred beyond repair. "A member of your family can do something far worse than just insulting your precious tea." The old man sobered up immediatly. "Nephew, I´m sorry. I didn´t mean to-" His nephew cut him off. "I know you didn´t mean to. I´m fine. No need to worry". His uncle looked concerned nonetheless.

"If you want to talk you can always come to me, you know that, right? I´m not going to leave." The boy slowly raised his head and gave his uncle a small smile. "I know, Uncle. Thank you." The man beamed at his nephew and put his hand on the boy´s shoulder. "No need to thank me. Besides I´ve to keep an eye on you so that you not accidently reveal us." The boy shook at his head at this.

"I can´t believe how people can go through their lives without knowing what´s really going on. Especially in this time of war." His uncle smiled sadly. "Most choose to close their eyes to what they don´t understand. It´s better like this, anyway. This war is bad enough without their involvment." The boy nodded his head. "I just wish it would just end. I´m sick of it, sick of knowing what our own people are able to do. Sick of all the pain and despair the cause."

The man lowered his head in shame, but he had a glint in his eyes. "It won´t take much longer, my boy. Hope is not lost. We will win this war, and after that you will lead us into an era of peace and kindness." At this the boy looked scared and his eyes glanced around the room nervously. "I´m scared, Uncle. What is if I become a monster?" His uncle just smiled kindly at him. "You are a great man, my nephew, and one day you will be a great king. One can´t betray his destiny."

The boy shook his head frantically. "How can I be a great king like you say after all the things I´ve done? I´m no better than my father." The old man sighed. It was much harder than he thought to make his nephew see himself for who he really was. "I admit that you´ve lost your path for a while, but you´ve found your way back. Don´t let past mistakes influence the present. You have learned from them and now it´s time to move on. There is no use in dwelling what could´ve been if things were different."

The boy nodded, though he wasn´t convinced. "I need to go, Uncle. I´ll be back later today." The boy turned and started walking out of the door to start his day when the voice of his uncle held him back. "Nephew!" The boy stopped, but didn´t face his uncle. The face of the old man was soft when he gazed at his nephew. "You´re nothing like father and you never will be. Remember that, Zuko." The boy just inclined his head as a sign that he has heard his uncle´s words and walked out of the door, closing the door softly behind him.

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The morning sun that was streaming in through the open window and bathing the room in blinding sun light woke the sleeping girl. Azure blue eyes opened slowly to look at the clock next to her bed. Katara groaned; she had to get up. It was the first day of school after the summer. Why did school had to start on a Wednesday anyway?

She dragged herself out of bed to the adjoining bathroom where she quickly brushed her teeth and got ready for the day. On her way downstairs she knocked on her brother´s door.  
"Sokka! Get up, we have school today!" The only answer she got was an annoyed groan. She shook her head, but had to smile nonetheless. She was by no means a morning person, but compared to her older brother she was the personified early bird.

She walked into the kitchen where her father was reading the newspaper and acknowledged her with a short wave of his hand. Her grandmother was preparing breakfast at the kitchen counter. "Good morning, Gran Gran. Morning, Dad." The old lady turned around to smile at her granddaughter. "Good morning, Katara. You´re just on time; breakfast´s finished."  
Katara took her pancakes gratefully. "Thank you, Gran Gran. I´m suprised that the smell hasn´t woken Sokka yet."

Her older brother chose this moment to walk through the door. "Am I smelling pancakes?" Gran Gran chuckled. "When you speak of the devil, the devil shall appear. And yes, we´re having pancakes for breakfast." Sokka smiled and stole one pancake from his sister´s plate.  
"Great. I love pancakes!"

Katara shook her head at her brother´s childlike behaviour. "You love all kind of food, big brother." He looked at her with his mouth full of pancakes and swallowed them down. "I´m a growing man. I need my nutritions." Their father, Hakoda, had folded his newspaper in the meanwhile and was looking at his children.

"Are you ready for your final year in school?" Sokka made a face. "It should´ve been my first year in college, but someone decided to hold me a year back." At this he was looking at his father. Hakoda only chuckled. "I wanted you and your sister in the same grade. Don´t blame an old man for trying to protect his little girl."

"Dad! I can take care of myself." Katara joined in their conversation. She hated it when her father and brother thought she was a little child that couldn´t take care of herself. Hakoda turned serious. "There are dangers out there of which you have no idea. I´m not taking any risks." Even Sokka had to sigh at this. As much as he loved his father and understood the need to protect his baby sister he didn´t see what the big deal was. It was High School for god´s sake, the only danger his sister had to fear were overly confident boys that tried to get in her pants and he could take care of them. There was no war anywhere near them, but their father acted as if their lives were at stake at every second of every day.

"We´re not at the marines, Dad. We´re in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Nothing ever happens here. Your cryptic words make absolutely no sense." Katara was getting frustrated with her dad. She loved him to pieces, but it was as if he knew more than them and all the answers she got out of him were undecipherable. She took a gulp of her green tea to calm her down, but it was disgustingly cold.

She glared at her drink. She could´ve sworn it was steaming hot just a moment ago. She sighed. Apparently she was losing her mind. She put the cup back down and glanced at her father and brother. Both of them were still arguing over their father´s secretive ways. She sighed again. There was no use in staying. They would continue arguing until Sokka noticed that he had to run to school.

She should head out now. Waving good-bye to her gran gran who was amusedly watching the argument between father and son, Katara took her backpack and walked out of the house. She could just hope that this year would be more interesting than the last one.

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**A/N: I really hope you like where this is going. I´ll update as soon as I can. Please don´t fell afraid to tell me anything that you didn´t like or what I could make better. ;)**


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